#productmanagers Taking a coding class is the least effective way to become more technical.

Here are the 9 core topics in software that you should focus on instead:

#productmanagement 1/ Application layer: Client-side & Server-side (Roles they play)

2/ APIs (What they do, their components)

3/ Programming languages (Building and compiling)

4/ Cloud Computing (What problem they solve, history of, and how it relates to scaling)

Much of the perfectionism struggle of #productmanagers stems from how the organization's culture handles change and uncertainty, and how technical company leaders are.

#productmanagement It's more common than not that management and company leaders lack experience in software and even fundamental technical literacy.

They don't understand that software is unpredictable and that timelines and roadmaps can only ever be rough estimates.

#productmanagers It doesn't matter how much effort you put into crafting your business requirements. Or if you brought engineers into the conversation early on during product ideation. The very nature of software is unpredictability. At some point, sh*t will hit the fan, or at the very least, something will not go according to plan.

#productmanagers, it's normal to be afraid of asking "stupid" questions during engineering meetings if you're not confident in your technical skills. You're far from the only one.

But when you feel this way, remember this:

#productmanagement Being concerned about looking stupid is *not actionable*. It's negative self-talk and insecurity that drags you down and keeps you from growth.

I got asked via my newsletter about the traits of the best and worst #productmanagers I've worked with..

.. and man, this question really took me on a walk down memory lane. I immediately had flashbacks of my time at Amazon as an engineer, working with some of the most talented product managers I’ve ever worked with… and ironically, also some of the most frustrating.

Common struggle from #productmanagers I coach:
Q: How do I go about user stories? What do engineers want to see from them?

Pro-tip I teach them:
Write broad epic user stories first.. then break them down into functional user stories. First, write broad epic user stories to..
- Communicate customer problem & get team alignment
- Encourage coming up w/ creative solutions for problem

❗Do ⬆️ early on in your reqs research/documenting and use epic user stories as a way to engage devs EARLY in the product roadmap